


Tooru's Toil and Trouble

by quinnlocke



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Mild Angst, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Minor Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Minor Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Platonic Soulmates, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 16:24:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12511436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quinnlocke/pseuds/quinnlocke
Summary: Tooru's been obsessed with finding his soulmate for years to no avail.Giving up is easy; joining Akaashi and Bokuto for goth night before Halloween is even easier. But when Tooru realizes he's gotten his soulmark after dancing with a stranger who disappears; he decides to throw himself in earnest into tracking down one, Iwaizumi Hajime, for an interview as a distraction.A Halloween themed Soulmate AU with soulmarks, pranks, ridiculous costumes and enough koamoji's to kill Iwa-chan!





	Tooru's Toil and Trouble

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Xeylah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xeylah/gifts).



> Special shout out to Rosa and Avery, who tirelessly beta'd this for me.

_Recent research into the variables determining soul marks has yielded no viable results to make a case for determination. Some soulmates have known each other for years before the marks have appeared. Others encountered their soulmates while running errands, or in one awkward case during dress shopping for their wedding. As it stands there is no process to determine at what age a person is meant to meet their soulmate..._

The year Oikawa Tooru turned eighteen, his nephew, Takeru had proudly shown off the cherry blossom on his collarbone after his first day of school.

Tooru had spent every day since studying the latest theories and research on soulmarks and soulmates, in the hope that one day he would find his.

The theory was simple. Contact with your soulmate left a permanent mark on your body, whether it was the first, fifth, or hundredth time you'd brushed together. People claimed that the symbol was supposed to reflect the self, complemented by the one on your soulmate. After that, whenever your fingers touched your soulmates skin, streams of what looked to be watercolors sliding across skin would appear. The patterns and colors were never quite understood either, despite modern scientific attempts to unravel the mystery.

Tooru had long since grown tired of seeing everyone around him meet their soulmate. He remembered the ache of jealousy when Hanamaki Takahiro and Matsukawa Issei jumped back from each other the first time they shook hands first year. That jealousy had only grown every time swirls of green and gold cascaded along arms, thighs, and lips. He'd nearly audibly groaned when Yahaba and Kyoutani had tried to quickly wipe away the matching marks that refused to fade from their wrists after the former had slammed the other into a wall during what would be their final match in high school.

He was constantly surrounded by soulmates and it was beginning to take a toll on him. Between the grey feathers that exploded to life on his roommate and the paw prints that danced along his former university teammate's skin, he was beginning to think he would spend the rest of his life utterly, cruelly alone.

He began to take drastic measures to... hurry up the process. Those drastic measures resulted in him coming home one night reeking of gin and tonic. Bokuto Koutarou and Akaashi Keiji watched him warily as he walked in; Akaashi in particular looked unimpressed. Cuddled on the couch, they looked like a photograph from a magazine and Tooru wanted to throw something at them. Grey feathers splayed out from under Akaashi's hand where it rested on Bokuto's arm and Tooru's gaze shifted, studying the marks enviously.

"Something smells like... juniper," Akaashi said with a hint of mirth, happily ignoring the threat in Tooru's face.

"Pretty sure that's gin, babe," Bokuto supplied. "Oh wait... you knew that."

Akaashi chuckled and pressed a kiss to Bokuto's temple. "I was being an ass." Bokuto cooed at the contact and nuzzled against Akaashi's neck. The worst part was that he wasn't even doing it to upset Tooru.

"Ugh, why?" Tooru demanded with a sigh as he peeled his button up away from his skin. Akaashi had a point. Tooru's wet shirt reeked. "Kou-chan, when are we going to discuss the fact that your boyfriend spends more and more time here and yet doesn't pay any rent?"

Bokuto blanched and buried his face in Akaashi's neck. Tooru rolled his eyes at the smirk Akaashi flashed him and stalked off to his bedroom to change into clean, _dry_ clothing. He could hear the two of them conspiring with each other. He knew whatever they had to say to him when he returned to the living room would probably be guaranteed to make him wish he hadn't bothered coming home.

"So," Bokuto started as soon as Tooru entered the living room, no longer able to avoid his fate, "Who did you piss off enough that they wasted a perfectly good gin and tonic?"

"It was hardly top shelf," Tooru replied with an eye roll. He flopped down on the couch and sighed, "Burned my eyes, though."

"Which date number was she?"

"Three."

"What did you do?"

"Shook her hand, sighed, and... implied that she was wasting my time when I saw the soul mark on her wrist."

Bokuto and Akaashi gave each other somber looks before disentangling themselves. They regarded him like disappointed parents.

"Tooru," Bokuto started, "Keiji and I were thinking—"

Tooru held up a finger, smiling sharply. "You mean you were talking about me behind my back."

"Only with the best of intentions," Akaashi countered. "You need to stop the serial dating."

"Not everyone is lucky enough to meet their soulmate in high school," Tooru griped. "You two shook hands and _boom_ —there it was." he emphasized his statement with his hands, expanding them apart.

Bokuto sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, but we were pretty damn sure it was platonic, you know? Keiji didn't want to have a soulmate at fifteen, and I was positive that any soulmate of mine was never gonna be a romantic one. Who could handle me?"

"You say that now, but look at the two of you." The two of them, with their stupid smiles and stupid feathers and stupid so-in-love-it-hurts attitude. Tooru wanted to gag.

"The point, Oikawa-san, is that we knew we were soulmates. Yet, we chose to be teammates and friends. The romance came later when we'd both realized we wanted it. You don't have to find your soulmate to be happy. My parents aren't soulmates."

"But both of your parents have soulmates," Tooru replied, as though Akaashi needed reminding. "Next you'll point out that Kuroo and Kenma are soulmates and not together. Trust me, I have reminded myself of these facts over and over again. Doesn't change how I feel."

"You need a night where you aren't worried about finding your soulmate," Akaashi suggested and Tooru scoffed. Akaashi gave him a _look_ so determined that Tooru was almost impressed. "You need a night to just have some fun. You've been obsessing over this soulmate thing since the summer."

"Before that, actually," Bokuto interjected, and Tooru shot him a betrayed look.

"I just don't understand why I haven't met them yet," he whined. "I'm good looking, charming..."

"Don't forget humble," Akaashi deadpanned.

"Quiet, you."

"The point is, you need to stop trying to make it happen, because you're driving yourself crazy with it," Bokuto said with a grin. "That's why you're gonna come out with us on Saturday to the Halloween party at Kurabu Shinpi."

Tooru grimaced and gave Akaashi a withering look. "You talked him into this. There is no way this was his idea."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I am _not_ going to a Halloween party at a goth club."

"It's not a goth club," Akaashi quipped. "It's an _alternative music venue_."

"Where the patrons wear black and listen to new wave."

"Only on 80's night. Besides, the universe would never be so cruel as to pair you with a goth. So there is no chance you'll meet your soulmate there."

"That is probably the nicest thing you have ever said to me Aka-chan," Tooru said with a hand on his heart.

"Ummm, babe," Bokuto said, poking Akaashi. "Was that meant to be nice?"

"Not at all," Akaashi answered, staring straight at Tooru.

Tooru took a pillow from the couch and shoved his face into it. However, that didn't stop him from hearing Bokuto's satisfied, "Thought so."

***

Tooru loved and hated Halloween. He loved the aesthetics, the crisp cool air of fall, the colors, and the revelry. He hated the one thing that was absolutely unavoidable, however: the spooky chills and thrills that so many thrived on.

Tooru had one horrible fatal flaw—he screamed like a girl when he was scared.

That meant that for almost the entire month of October, his so-called friends would go out of their way to prank him in the most insane ways possible, all in hopes of eliciting a shriek out of him that that he would never, ever live down.

Kuroo Tetsurou was always the first successful prankster. This year, he'd rigged Oikawa's desk drawer so that when he opened it a spring loaded snake shot out. His only saving grace had been that Yamaguchi Tadashi had been the only other one in the newspaper office when it had happened.

"One day, I am going to have a heart attack because of these assholes," he muttered, pretending to not notice that Yamaguchi was giggling.

"I'm sure you'll be free of them once you graduate," Yamaguchi offered in condolence.

"Knowing my luck, I will end up with one of them always in my life." Tooru looked over his emails and perked up at the name in his inbox. Iwaizumi Hajime had received an award for designing a cheap, lightweight polymer that could be used in 3D printers to create prosthesis devices that would revolutionize the industry. Naturally, the university paper wanted an interview and Tooru had snatched up the opportunity to get it.

He was the sports reporter and was rarely afforded the opportunity to write articles with a story to them. He had used Iwaizumi's former athletics as a weak excuse to secure the article for himself. He should have saved his luck for getting the guy to actually agree to being interviewed.  
——

From: Iwaizumi.H4@unimail.edu  
To: Oikawa.T1@unimail.edu  
Re: Re: Re: interview

_Trashykawa,_

_How many times am I gonna have to say no to you?_

_What will it take?_

_You have the world at your fingertips in that computer. Just fucking google me. You'll get all your answers there. I have no time._

_Iwaizumi_

Tooru took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Yamaguchi's desk sat in front of his and he watched his friend peek from around his laptop screen at him.

"He said no again?"

"He's stopped calling me Shittykawa at least," Tooru said brightly, "Now, I'm Trashykawa."

Yamaguchi chuckled and Tooru found himself smiling. Yamaguchi was one of the few people working at the paper that didn't drive him absolutely insane. They'd met only the year previous and Tooru often wished he'd get just one more year with Yama-chan as his partner in crime.

Tooru wrote the sports articles and Yamaguchi photographed the events. The long hours together had fostered an inevitable camaraderie, especially at volleyball matches. Tooru knew the only reason he'd never consider continuing journalism as a career was he had no guarantee to have Yamaguchi be his photographer.

"Morning, Tsukki," Yamaguchi said brightly, and Tooru barely kept from rolling his eyes. The worst part about being friends with Yamaguchi was his too-tall, too-sharp soulmate. Tsukishima Kei ambled into the office with a tray of coffee. Tooru took his with a nod and tried not to stare as Yamaguchi took his, fingers brushing together.

Deep blue swirls burst across his and Tsukishima's hands like dark ink dropped in water. As the blue faded, small pinpricks of white flashed, a galaxy made flesh. It was undeniably gorgeous, and Tooru would be hard pressed to think of anything that topped it. Yamaguchi caught him staring and flushed momentarily, glancing away. Tooru could only hope Yamaguchi was at least a little oblivious to the raw envy chewing at Tooru's heart.

Tooru wondered what it would be like to have had a soulmate for so long, to know them so well. They'd been friends since elementary school, although it wasn't until their second year of high school when Tsukishima had tripped on a rock and Yamaguchi's hands clasped onto his to catch him, their skin bursting into the deep blue swirls that would forever show whenever they touched.

"You left before I woke up," Tsukishima murmured, sitting on the edge of Yamaguchi's desk.

"Sorry, Tsukki." Yamaguchi smiled sheepishly. "I wanted to take some pictures of the quad and the football field. Needed it to be empty for my project."

"S'all right. Just missed you is all."

Tooru looked away before they kissed. He was above such spying. Even if they were doing it right in front of him, flaunting their happiness. Anyone else he'd scoff and start berating them for PDA, but he'd only yelled at Yamaguchi once in his life.

It had been after their first assignment together. Yamaguchi was still fairly wet behind the ears and had missed a chance to take a picture of the setter of the volleyball team while in midair for a jump serve. Yamaguchi had looked on the verge of tears and Tooru had never seen anything in his life that hurt him more. It hadn't even taken Tsukishima quietly and savagely threatening Tooru for him to immediately regret it.

Plus, he'd been plagued by horrible luck for nearly three months afterwards. Yelling at Yamaguchi was like drinking unicorn blood. Sure, you could do it, but afterwards you would live a cursed half life and it wasn't worth it.

"Any fun plans this weekend, Oikawa-san?" Tsukishima asked with a barely concealed smirk. Tooru would forever be confused as to how the sweetness and light that was Yamaguchi Tadashi was not only in love with, but the soulmate of the pillar of bitter salt that was Tsukishima Kei.

"Why are you asking me when you already know the answer?" Tooru retorted without looking away from the email he was typing up. "I know you and Mr. Perfect talk about me behind my back."

"I should tell him you call him that."

"He knows. He also knows I'll never admit to his stupid perfect face how much I hate how perfect he is."

"Akaashi-san is very lovely," Yamaguchi added to their conversation. "Bokuto-san is lucky."

"Beauty is only skin deep," Oikawa muttered.

"Explains you then," Tsukishima quipped. "So going to drop the soulmate search and spend a night just having fun? I didn't think you knew how to do that."

"I am very capable of having fun. Yama-chan, tell your salty companion that I know how to have fun."

"Oikawa is capable of having fun," Yamaguchi repeated obediently, but with laughter in his voice that nullified the attempt.

Tsukishima shook his head and ruffled Yamaguchi's hair while Tooru scowled. "I'm going to class. Let me know if that program works for you. Love you."

"Love you too, Tsukki."

Tooru looked over his email one more time, mouse hovering over the send button. Before he could over-think, he clicked send and closed the program. Before he could talk himself out of it, he looked through his email settings on his phone and un-synced it.

"What are you doing?" Yamaguchi asked curiously.

"Making it so I can't see my univeristy emails on my phone," he answered. Yamaguchi gave him a puzzled look and Tooru clarified. "I just sent Iwa-chan the email I'm hoping will change his mind and allow me the only chance I will have to get into the graduation issue of the paper. If I keep my emails synced and he responds negatively, it will ruin my entire weekend. As your lovely boyfriend pointed out, I need to have some fun."

"Yeah, you do."

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

"That's Tsukki's line."

"I know. Make sure to tell him I said it."

***

"Koutarou, stop whining please."

"Keiji! No! You can't slick it back!"

"You're not a horned owl!"

Tooru laughed to himself as he listened to the argument going on in the bathroom. Bokuto had been dead set on their costume idea, enthusiastic to the point of telling anyone who would listen about he and his boyfriend's amazing Halloween costume plans. Now that he realized that their costume involved altering his signature look, however, he was suddenly against it.

"You knew this was part of the costume. We did a practice run."

"I _know_ , but now I have to actually go out like this! People are going to see me!"

"That's the point of a costume, Koutarou."

Tooru poked his head into the bathroom and cooed at Bokuto. "Kou-chan, you look adorable."

Bokuto sat on the toilet seat, arms folded and pouting. His black and grey hair had been sprayed with colored spray until it was pale white and then combed back. Akaashi was busy fluffing his own curls.

"Keep telling him that. For once, I am encouraging you to continue complimenting him until his head explodes."

Bokuto looked at Tooru expectantly. Tooru shook his head and planted a hand on his hip.

"If you weren't madly in love with this one I would have tapped your ass back in freshman year."

Tooru couldn't help but grin at the choked sound Akaashi made. Bokuto only had smiles for him. "Awww, I think you're hot too!"

Akaashi turned around and his icy look might have frozen anyone else in place, but Tooru was immune to it after years of causing it. "Don't be jealous Aka-chan. After I met you, I wondered what a threesome would be like."

"Are you quite familiar with the act of cuckolding?"

"Kinky."

"Oh, you have no idea," Bokuto interrupted. "This one time..."

"Bokuto, no!" they yelled in unison and Bokuto's mouth shut with a pronounced click.

"Are you absolutely sure that's what you want to wear?" Akaashi asked, his eyes critically studying Tooru's costume. "It's going to be in the low teens tonight."

"I love that you care about my well being, Aka-chan. I thought you were going to talk me out of this."

"Oikawa-san, there are few men who could pull that look off. Far be it from me to dissuade you from wearing it."

Tooru placed a hand on his nearly bare chest and gasped. "I feel so loved!"

"And there you go ruining the image."

"Rude!"

***

Kurabu Shinpi had been the provider of music and atmosphere for the goths of Tokyo for over a decade. Akaashi wasn't lying when he called it an alternative music venue. The music was alternative, a source of dubious enjoyment to Tooru. He'd gone a handful of times, mostly for Akaashi's birthday, and had never felt like he could successfully synchronize with the vibe. Bokuto barely fit into that scene, too, but he at least enjoyed the music. Tooru also suspected it probably had a lot to do with how his boyfriend looked in club wear.

Halloween meant that the club goers would forgo their black leather, fishnets, and other adornments for a different sort of costume. Bokuto's slicked back white hair glowed under the blacklights. As did his owl kigurumi and the feathers that decorated the corners of his mask. Akaashi wore Gryffindor robes with hand painted glasses and a lightning bolt on the black half mask he wore. They honestly were too cute for words and Tooru hated them for it— _but only a little_.

Tooru caught several people checking him out, their expressions ranging from inquisitive to hungry. He reveled in the attention. It was his entire reason for such a daring costume, after all. Besides, he had the body for it. He had been a little disappointed when he realized all the work he'd put into his eye makeup would be hidden by his mask, but Akaashi had helped him alter it, so it wasn't all for nothing.

Three drinks and a couple shots later and he was on the dance floor, not caring this wasn't his scene, not caring that he'd never heard half the songs, and not thinking at all about soulmates.

"I love, love, love your costume!" a shrill voice practically screamed in his ear over the music. His dance partner was an enthusiastic French maid who'd held his attention for three songs in a row. She was cute, and gave off the vibe she wasn't looking for anything more from him, which made Tooru relax. "Your hair should be in buns though, shouldn't it?"

Tooru chuckled and winked as he explained, "That was only in the first movie. She had a ponytail in the scene with the bikini."

"Oh, right!" his dance partner said as the music started to slow. She seemed on the verge of saying something else when her eyes widened and she gasped, "Look!"

Tooru looked over his shoulder and felt his jaw drop. Fuck if that wasn't the best looking ass he'd ever seen in his life. Whoever he was, he was burly, thick in all the places Tooru liked, with biceps that made him drool. He didn't have time to register what the man's face looked like because he was short circuiting over his costume.

_Han Solo..._

Had he not been ogling a man dressed as his secret fantasy, he might have been more aware of the actions of his dance partner, which was to swiftly plant herself behind him and give him a good natured shove right in the direction of thick, dark and _oh god, he was gorgeous._

Tooru nearly ascended when he felt himself caught in a tight grasp.

"Watch where you are—uh, wow."

_“I can't believe you are going to wear the Slave Leia costume.“_

_“Leia the Hutt Slayer!“_

_“My mistake, even still I can't believe you even have the guts to wear it.“_

_“It's not a matter of guts, it's a matter of abs. Besides, this might be the year I finally find my scoundrel.“_

The scoundrel in question smiled and his face became utterly, disgustingly perfect. The difference in height was more than made up for with that body. Besides, Tooru's used to being taller than his partners, both male and female. Despite the immediate attraction, a part of Tooru is helplessly giggling at the thought that he is dressed as one secret fantasy while dancing with the other.

Star Wars wasn't his favorite movie for nothing after all.

Tooru's spine, his skin, his _everything_ tingled when the stranger's hand found its way to the middle of his back and pulled him in tight.

"Hi," he said with that grin that made Tooru weak.

"Hello." Tooru lowered his lashes, letting their bodies stay close.

"You look..." His voice trailed off and Tooru smirked.

"Good? I know."

"Cocky," the stranger corrected, narrowing his eyes, but he didn't move away.

Tooru's smirk turned into a wicked grin. "You're the one with your hand right above my ass." This time, he did attempt to move away, but Tooru grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. "I never said it was a problem."

The beat of the music picked up and Tooru pressed his hips to the stranger's and began to lead their movement, hands sliding along the man's back, his shoulders. Every so often Tooru would pull away, just enough, simply to delight in the way his dance partner slid closer, capturing Tooru's body again. They never got close enough for a kiss, not really, but Tooru could taste the man's heavy exhalations as they both grew hot and sweaty. Tooru lost track of how many songs played while they continued to dance. Seconds, minutes, hours might have passed and yet they continued to move against each other without ever quite following through with anything more intimate.

Tooru desperately wanted to kiss this man. Everything about him was already gorgeous and he needed to know if those lips were every bit as perfect as the rest of his body. The lights over head cast colorful shadows over them and Tooru thought he looked good bathed in blue.

_Kiss me..._

As though he could read his mind, the stranger at last leaned in towards Tooru, his eyes closing slowly. Tooru closed the gap eagerly and did all he could to not melt into the kiss. The stranger's lips met Tooru's like they belonged nowhere else, and he didn't care if it was the wild atmosphere or the pounding beat or even the ridiculous fact that they were Leia and Han Solo, kissing like their lives depended on it—

_It was perfect._

His tongue slipped across Tooru's lips and slid inside his mouth. Tooru nipped the tip playfully and groaned when his tongue teased along his lower lip followed by a scrape of teeth. He laid his arms over the man's shoulders and reveled in the feel of those strong arms pulling him in closer. Tooru raised a leg and let himself grind on the man's thigh enough to earn a responding moan.

When Tooru felt a vibration against his leg, he jerked in surprise and giggled. Tooru managed to snag one last kiss before his partner pulled away and sighed, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. He frowned at the caller ID, dark eyes flickering up to Tooru, genuinely apologetic."I gotta take this," he said. "I'll be back I swear."

"I'll hold you to that," Tooru answered with a teasing kiss to the tip of his nose.

He watched that fantastic ass disappear into the crowd and sighed with a smile. Without the distraction of kissing sexy strangers as the heavy beat of the music pulsed through them, however, he soon realized how incredibly thirsty he was and attempted to get to the bar. The thick crowd of people made it near impossible. After several attempts, he gave up and decided a couple sips from a tap in the bathroom wouldn't kill him.

He stumbled into the bathroom, but as he stepped into the dimly lit room, the turquoise on his hands failed to vanish. He scowled in annoyance. Had someone been covered in body paint? His hands and arms were covered in swirls of teal blue that were...

"Oh my god!" he yelped and rushed to stare into in the mirror. His hands, arms, chest, and stomach were covered in slowly fading swirls of teal and blue that patterned across his skin like flower petals. He met his own eyes, which were wide and wild. "Oh my _fucking god_!"

***

Akaashi cackled uncontrollably, back pressed against the wall, clutching his stomach. It might have made for a comical sight were it not for the fact that Akaashi laughed like a donkey with tonsillitis, and his laughter was directed at Tooru.

"You... met... your... soulmate!" he choked out between horrendous snorts. " _Tonight_!"

"Kou-chan, if you don't get him away from me—" Tooru seethed.

"Okay, babe," Bokuto said, hoisting a tipsy Akaashi over his shoulder. "I think we've picked on Oiks enough, don't you?"

Akaashi's laughter continued unabated and he pointed at Tooru even as Bokuto carried him down the hall. His face was filled with a glee that made Tooru want to strangle him. "I am never going to stop loving this!"

"Kiss my ass, Akaashi!"

"Lift your skirt, Trashykawa!"

"You swore you wouldn't tell him about that email!" Tooru screamed at Bokuto's retreating back, but Bokuto only offered a sheepish smile. The door swung shut and Akaashi's laughter muffled. Tooru knew that muffled laughter would soon turn to muffled moans, and if he didn't get himself in bed with headphones on, he'd be stuck listening to very drunk sex.

He grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and chugged half of it on his way to the bathroom, sighing in frustration when he heard the unmistakable sound of a body slamming into the wall. Akaashi was feisty when sober and apparently even more so when drunk. Worse still, Bokuto too-often regaled Tooru with tales of his boyfriend's flexibility and exuberance in the bedroom. He figured he had about five more minutes before the moans began. Maybe if he took a shower he could stand beneath the spray long enough that he'd emerge long after they... _finished._

Tooru shuddered and turned the shower on, raising the heat as high as he thought he'd be able to stand. He stripped off his costume, folded it carefully, and laid it in a pile on the sink. His reflection stared back at him from the mirror, haggard beneath his surviving makeup. He lifted his arm and stared at the broken crown on his wrist. A tear slid down his cheek and he hastily wiped it away, only to step into the shower and completely fall apart.

"A broken crown for a broken king." He laughed bitterly, but between one heartbeat and the next, they broke into sobs that wracked him as he sank to the floor of the shower stall. He choked on a whine as his knee protested the movement and he gingerly stretched his legs out. "So broken I can't even curl into a proper ball of misery." Tooru could barely stand to listen to his own voice and found himself crying again, eyes raw, nose clogged, throat tight.

He couldn't get himself back under control until the water started to cool. He hastily cleaned himself and got out, no longer thinking of anything but the misery and grief knotted up in his chest. He dried himself off quickly and tied a towel around his waist. Only then did he think to check whether Bokuto and Akaashi had finished, a fresh surge of bitterness hitting him. They would be disgustingly happy, together forever, and Tooru was going to die alone after a single night with his soulmate.

Opening the door, he poked his head into the hallway and listened for the sounds of intimacy from the down the hall. Hearing silence, he tiptoed towards his bedroom and froze when Bokuto's door suddenly opened. Bokuto's hair was in disarray but he was in sweats instead of the kigurumi.  
"Tooru?" His golden eyes were concerned, but Tooru couldn't meet them.

"I'm fine, Kou-chan," he lied through clenched teeth. "Go back to... I'm sure Aka-chan is lonely without you."

"He's asleep actually. Got me out of the kigurumi and then... " He gestured to the sleeping form on his bed. Tooru hated that even dead asleep and drunk, Akaashi looked gorgeous. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not tonight," he whispered, too exhausted to even pretend his eyes weren't puffy or his voice rough. "Maybe tomorrow."

Bokuto bit his lip. "You know Keiji didn't mean to upset you right?"

"Oh Kou-chan, of course. I'm not mad at him. That's... that's how we are with each other. It's nothing you ever need to worry about." Tooru dredged a smile up from somewhere.

Bokuto nodded and scratched the back of his head. He made a face as he pulled his hand away and saw nothing but sticky white on his fingers. "I need a shower. Did you leave me any hot water?"

Tooru shrugged and passed by Bokuto, but not before feeling a firm hand wrap around his wrist. Bokuto turned his arm over and gently rubbed a finger along the broken crown. "They say that the permanent mark... it's how you see yourself," Bokuto said before dropping Tooru's wrist and pulling him into a hug. "You're not broken, Tooru. Not even a little bit."

Tooru had thought he was cried out, for now. Evidently not. His eyes stung and he squeezed them shut. He was too defeated to have shame anymore, and leaned into Bokuto's strength. "Thank you, Kou," he whispered.

Bokuto's arms tightened around him. "Anytime."

***  
From: Oikawa.T1@unimail.edu  
To: Iwaizumi.H4@unimail.edu  
Subject: One More Time! (we gonna celebrate)

Daft Punk? Get it? Hope so.

Iwaizumi-san

I can't believe I am resorting to this. This is my final year. I have dedicated the last four years to the sports column of this paper. I have never once been featured in the graduation issue. This might very well be the last time there even is a physical copy of the graduation issue. This is my last chance to be featured in what may very well be the last graduation issue ever released.

I beg of you, as a fellow student, and a fellow former athlete. Please, let me interview you.

Oikawa Tooru

***

Tooru woke up Sunday morning and sent out a silent thank you to whoever was listening for the lack of hangover. It was bad enough his entire body was exhausted from crying the night before. He didn't need to have a headache on top of all of that.

He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and flipped through his messages. The top one was from Tadashi telling him he'd gotten them tickets to the local pro-league's volleyball game. It would be nice to see a game and not be worrying about photographing and documenting the event for once. Below Tadashi's was a message from Kuroo reminding him they had lunch plans that day. Tooru hesitated, about to click his university email, when he decided against it. After last night, he couldn't bear being let down by yet another decline from Iwaizumi.

Tooru rubbed his eyes briefly before stumbling to his bedroom door. He stubbed his toe on his desk and let out a yelp, only to trip over a shoe on the floor. He nearly collided head first into his door before righting himself, cursing under his breath. He yawned loudly as he opened his door and promptly began choking to death on a foreign substance that had entered his mouth.

He scrambled forward, screaming and gagging and found himself pressed against a barrier. He couldn't see and his mouth felt like it was being cut up and finally he fell forward crashing to the floor in a heap. At the sound of maniacal laughter, Tooru immediately knew who'd done this to him.

"Makki, you fucking asshole!" he screamed before jumping up and charging at the pink haired mastermind behind his misery. Hanamaki Takahiro had barely a chance to blink before being tackled to the ground.

"Worth it!" he cackled as Tooru smacked him in sheer outrage. "You should have seen your face!"

"Give me the spare key, you fucker!" Tooru screeched. "I didn't give it to you so you could try and kill me with confetti!"

Tooru flipped Makki over and held him down, grabbing at the keys clipped to his belt loop. He planted his legs on Makki's arms, effectively pinning him to the floor. He removed his key from the ring and climbed off of Makki, who hadn't fought Tooru and who was still giggling into the floor. "I hate you."

"It was Issei's idea!" Makki managed to say between fits of laughter.

"Be sure to tell him I hate him too!" Tooru yelled before stalking off to the bathroom with Makki's keys still in hand. He dropped his spare key and Makki's ring of keys onto the bathroom counter while he scrubbed confetti off his face. As he rinsed, he was struck with a horrible, awful, totally justifiable revenge plan.

"Oikawa," Makki called through the door. "Give me my keys back, man. I gotta get going."

Tooru smirked at the mirror and let out a loud, "Whoops!" before flushing the toilet and silently shoving Makki's keys into the drawers beneath the sink.

Makki pounded on the door. "You fucking didn't!"

Tooru opened the door and plastered on his best smile, confirming nothing. Makki was the last one he wanted to know about the details of the night before. He would start out feeling bad, then he would tell Mattsun, and then they would attempt to make him feel better by teasing him over his horrible luck. So to distract him, Tooru would play up pretending to have flushed his keys down the toilet.

"Tooru, you asshole!" Makki protested. Tooru ignored that, too, and returned to his bedroom.

He got dressed to the sweet sounds of Makki on the phone with his boyfriend, begging to be picked up. Tooru waited until confirmation that Mattsun was indeed on his way before returning to the bathroom and throwing Makki's keys back to him as he walked out the door. Laughing as Makki cursed him out, Tooru kept his smile plastered on his face even as he walked down the street to meet up with Kuroo. He would get through this with Bokuto and Akaashi being the only ones who knew that he had, in his infinite luck, found and lost his soulmate in less than an hour.

***  
_**~~~Monday ~~~**_

 **Tooru** _10:06am_  
Really Mattsun? Live Nudes? I asked for articles on the girl's volleyball captain

 **Mattsun** _10:09am_  
That is the article

 **Tooru** _10:20am_  
Every single email I have been sent today has questionable links

 **Mattsun** _10:23am_  
Half the fun is guessing if any of them are actually what they say they are

 **Tooru** _10:28am_  
(」°ロ°)」

 **Mattsun** _10:32am_  
Oh wow, breaking out the emotes, you haven't used those in years!

***

 **Tadashi** _12:34pm_  
What the hell is wrong with you?!?!?!

 **Tsukki** _12:36pm_  
What? Why? What did I do?

 **Tadashi** _12:38pm_  
A jump scare? Really Kei???

 **Tsukki** _12:40pm_  
You weren't supposed to be in the office today!

 **Tadashi** _12:42pm_  
So you admit it was you who sent the email?

 **Tsukki** _12:45pm_  
Of course I did! Why are you at the office? You weren't supposed to be there!

 **Tadashi** _12:50pm_  
I had to come in to pick up some files!!

 **Tsukki** _12:53pm_  
Whoops?

 **Tadashi** _12:59pm_  
You owe me so many fries right now! Sooo many!!

  
_**~~~Tuesday~~~**_

 **Makki** _8:34am_  
Are you sick?

 **Tooru** _9:03am_  
Of what? You, this month, my life?

 **Makki** _9:13am_  
I mean are you sick as in ill? You haven't instagrammed in nearly 24 hours

 **Tooru** _9:23am_  
I've been busy

***

 **Mattsun** _9:28am_  
OMFG are you dying???

 **Tooru** _9:34am_  
FFS!! I am fine!!!

***

 **Aka-chan** _3:34pm_  
Who do I hold responsible for the trip wire maze in the hallway?

 **Tooru** _3:45pm_  
I have a list of our friends. Go over it and decide who you think probably did it. Feel free to punish them

 **Aka-chan** _4:05pm_  
It was Koutarou...

 **Tooru** _4:10pm_  
You know you don't actually live there right? You could have avoided falling into a trap laid for me by spending time in your own dorm room!

***

 **Kou** < **3** _4:18pm_  
KEIJI IAM SOOOO SORRRY1!!!!!!

 **Keiji** < **3** _4:20pm_  
What will you do to make it up to me?

 **Kou** < **3** _4:25pm_  
Send me a wink emoji if the answer is something sexy

 **Keiji** < **3** _4:35pm_  
I will do no such thing!

  
**~~~Wednesday~~~**

 **Group Message**  
**Tooru** _8:09am_  
Whichever one of you replaced my fucking milk bread is a dead man!

 **Makki** _8:15am_  
I would never be so bold as to taint the precious milk bread

 **Mattsun** _8:22am_  
Seconded, plus I'm still in bed and can send picture proof if you'd like

 **Tooru** _8:25am_  
No thank you!!

 **Makki** _8:25am_  
Yes please!

 **Tooru** _8:27am_  
Why am I friends with you????

***

 **Owl-Bro** _12:34pm_  
Can i have one of the brownies you left on the counter?

 **Tooru** _1:23pm_  
I didn't make brownies

 **Tooru** _1:27pm_  
Kou-chan, tell me you didn't eat brownies left on our kitchen counter the week of Halloween???

 **Owl-Bro** _1:30pm_  
Ok, so I asked only because I already ate some and felt bad and figured you would say yes so the permission text was so I wouldn't feel bad about eating one... am I going to die?

 **Owl-Bro** _1:35pm_  
OMG!!!!!

***

 **Aka-chan** _2:56pm_  
Direct me to whomever is responsible for the brownies. I am going to kill them.

***

 **Kuroo** _7:23pm_  
Contact Information  
Iwaizumi Hajime  
Download Attachment

 **Tooru** _7:27pm_  
How did you get this?

 **Kuroo** _7:32pm_  
It was either get you this info, or face Akaashi. I chose the easier route.

***

 **Tooru** _7:39pm_  
Why?

 **Aka-chan** _7:42pm_  
Because I do actually consider you my friend. Also Koutarou informed me of my behavior on Saturday night. I am deeply sorry for laughing at you and making light of what must have been a horrible night for you.

 **Tooru** _7:45pm_  
Who are you and where is Akaashi?

 **Aka-chan** _7:47pm_  
Asshole

 **Tooru** _7:49pm_  
Aka-chan you're back!! There was an imposter pretending to be you!!

 **Tooru** _7:57pm_  
Thank you

***

 **Unknown Number** _8:00pm_  
Good evening Iwaizumi. Did you have a good day? Are you relaxing for the evening? Probably a good time to answer some emails and maybe even say yes to someone who has asked you very nicely several times to sit down for just a few minutes and talk. You know, like an interview.

 **Iwaizumi** _8:07pm_  
How the fuck did you get this number?

 **Pyschokawa** _8:15pm_  
(ﾉ >ω<)ﾉ :｡･:*:･ﾟ'★,｡･:*:･ﾟ'☆

 **Iwaizumi** _8:23pm_  
Wtf is that supposed to be?

 **Psychokawa** _8:26pm_  
Can you not read kaomoji Iwa-chan?

 **Iwaizumi** _8:33pm_  
Don't you dare

 **Psychokawa** _8:36pm_  
I do believe you started the nickname trend when you dubbed me "Shittykawa" (︺︹︺)

 **Iwaizumi** _8:40pm_  
Lose my number you nutjob!

***

 **Iwaizumi** _8:50pm_  
It was you!

 **Kozume** _8:55pm_  
Probably?

 **Iwaizumi** _9:00pm_  
I connected the damn dots and the only way that jackass could have gotten my number was you!

 **Kozume** _9:04pm_  
Oikawa? Then yes, that was me. I gave your contact information to Kuro who gave it to Oikawa.

 **Iwaizumi** _9:06pm_  
Why? Have I pissed you off?

 **Kozume** _9:09pm_  
He asked me for it?

 **Iwaizumi** _9:12pm_  
Is this some sort of soulmate shit where you have to do something for him?

 **Kozume** _9:15pm_  
Soulmate, best friend, take your pick. Has it inconvenienced you greatly?

 **Iwaizumi** _9:20pm_  
Your indifference to my struggle is heartwarming

 **Kozume** _9:22pm_  
I aim to please

***

 **Tooru** _9:30pm_  
I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let me make it up to you. Care to have a cup of coffee?

 **Iwa-chan** _9:40pm_  
Nice try

 **Tooru** _9:45pm_  
You saw right through my ruse (*^.^*)

 **Iwa-chan** _9:47pm_  
A brain dead monkey could have seen through that

 **Tooru** _9:49pm_  
(；￣Д￣) mean Iwa-chan!!!

  
**~~~Thursday~~~**

**Shittykawa** _6:34am_  
(￣▽￣)ノgood morning Iwa-chan!!!

 **Iwaizumi** _6:39am_  
No fuck this, you're not allowed to be a morning person too

 **Shittykawa** _6:42am_  
(°ｏ°) we have something in common Iwa-chan! I never would have imagined!

 **Iwaizumi** _6:45am_  
Leave me alone!

***

 **Aka-chan** _7:15am_  
How goes the effort to annoy him into letting you interview him?

 **Tooru** _7:20am_  
ヽ(ˇヘˇ)ノ

 **Aka-chan** _7:24am_  
I'm sure that sunny personality of yours will win him over in time

 **Tooru** _7:30am_  
For point of reference how long did it take for you to like me?

 **Aka-chan** _7:32am_  
Who says I do?

 **Tooru** _7:34am_  
(╯°益°)╯彡┻━┻

***

 **Shittykawa** _10:23am_  
What's your favorite food?

 **Shittykawa** _10:24am_  
Mine's milk bread

 **Shittykawa** _10:26am_  
(っ˘ڡ˘ς) nom nom nom

 **Iwaizumi** _10:29am_  
That's not a real food. That's a fucking snack.

 **Shittykawa** _10:32am_  
Oh what's yours then? Probably something boring and healthy

 **Iwaizumi** _10:34am_  
Agedashi tofu

***

 **Iwa-chan** _12:03pm_  
What sport did you play? 

**Tooru** _12:10pm_  
I'm supposed to be the one asking the questions here.

 **Iwa-chan** _12:12pm_  
I don't read my emails a lot so I am only just now seeing this final plea from you. What sport did you play?

 **Tooru** _12:15pm_  
(／o^)/ °⊥ ＼(^o＼)

 **Iwa-chan** _12:17pm_  
Sigh... translation please

 **Tooru** _12:20pm_  
Volleyball Iwa-chan!! Also, sigh? You texted a sigh?

 **Iwa-chan** _12:22pm_  
You've gotta be kidding me. Volleyball?

 **Tooru** _12:24pm_  
Yes volleyball Iwa-chan. What about you? Those brute arms look like they belonged to a baseball player.

 **Iwa-chan** _12:27pm_  
I'm not going to hurt myself trying to figure out how you know what my arms look like. What position?

 **Tooru** _12:31pm_  
My god take me out to dinner first

 **Iwa-chan** _12:35pm_  
You know what, forget it. I don't care and the answer is no.

***

 **Trashykawa** _2:45pm_  
Setter

 **Iwaizumi** _2:56pm_  
Wing spiker

 **Trashykawa** _2:59pm_  
You played volleyball?

 **Iwaizumi** _3:03pm_  
Yes and baseball

 **Trashykawa** _3:07pm_  
I knew it!

***

 **Iwa-chan** _6:03pm_  
There's a cafe off campus I like

 **Tooru** _6:07pm_  
☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

 **Iwa-chan** _6:10pm_  
... 

**Tooru** _6:12pm_  
( ˙꒳˙ )

 **Iwa-chan** _6:15pm_  
Tomorrow, 3pm. You get me for as long as it takes me to finish my coffee

 **Tooru** _6:17pm_  
(￣^￣)ゞ

***

 **Trashykawa** _2:45pm_  
I managed to snag a table in the back. I'm the attractive one with the laptop and the chai tea. Not to be confused with the attractive one with the mocha.

 **Trashykawa** _3:05pm_  
5 minutes late Iwa-chan, that's not very nice of you

 **Trashykawa** _3:15pm_  
15 minutes late, you'd be in trouble if this was a class

 **Trashykawa** _3:30pm_  
Is this a sick joke? Are you playing a prank on me? Did Kuroo fucking put you up to this?

 **Trashykawa** _4:15pm_  
I hope you're happy. I hope you are having a good fucking laugh over this.

***

_You have 3 voicemails_

Tooru sighed. He'd honestly expected more, given the text messages he had sent out to everyone on his contact list before turning off his phone.

_First message_

"It's Akaashi, if you're still planning to scour the club for your soulmate tomorrow, I'll join you. Please come out of your room. We'll put on Star Wars, I'll even let you and Koutarou act out the duel between Vader and Kenobi with minimal eye rolling this time."

_Message deleted_

Akaashi had chosen his bribe well. Bokuto and Akaashi were excellent cuddlers, and acting out the lightsaber battle was one of his favorite things. Despite this, Tooru just buried himself further into his blanket cocoon and went to the next message. 

_Second message_

"Oiks, it's Kuroo, I swear I didn—"

He stuck his tongue out at the phone and scoffed. Screw Kuroo, Makki, Mattsun, all of them. They knew what that article meant to him. They knew how hard he'd pushed to even be given it. To use all of that against him for a prank stung unbearably. 

_Message deleted_

_Third message_

"Hi, Oikawa, it's... It's Iwaizumi."

He dropped the phone on his face at the sound. Iwaizumi's voice was gruff but sounded like a genuine apology. Tooru restarted the message and listened intently.

"Hi, Oikawa, it's... It's Iwaizumi. I'm really sorry. I dropped my phone in the engineering lab and it got freaking crushed in a press. And in the confusion and fun of getting a new one, I forgot that I said I would meet you. I did actually show up... around six, and you were, of course, not there."

"Like I would spend three hours waiting for you," Tooru muttered, as though Iwaizumi would respond.

"Anyways, I feel really bad about what happened. So I'm gonna text you my home address. Come by anytime tomorrow. I'll sit down with you as long as you want. I'll even go buy milk bread. Kuroo told me that you get pranked throughout the month and this looked like one of those pranks and you were really hurt and I... so I feel really bad. So, yeah consider this like a Halloween present, you know. No tricks, just a treat, and oh god please erase this message and never tell anyone I ever said that."

_Message saved._

Tooru scrubbed a tear from his cheek and sighed, rolling over in his burrito. His room was almost uncomfortably silent as he figured out what to do. When the ache had fully subsided, he would call Kuroo and the rest of them and let them know he was sorry for his accusations.

For now, he wriggled out of his his blanket cocoon, turned it into a cape and quietly opened his bedroom door. There was a soft whisper from the living room and then the opening chords to the Star Wars theme erupted from the TV. He smiled and shuffled into the living room. Bokuto and Akaashi sat with a Tooru sized space between them, snacks and bottles of soda scattered on the coffee table. Tooru settled in between them and pulled out his phone to send a quick message before shutting it off and snuggling in for the night.

 **Tooru** _9:55pm_  
I'll be there tomorrow Iwa-chan 

***

The end credits for _The Empire Strikes Back_ played softly in the background, just barely covering the sounds of Bokuto's light snores. Tooru laid with his head in Akaashi's lap, sighing happily as he combed his long fingers through Tooru's hair.

"You are really good at that," he cooed, enjoying the tingling feeling cascading up and down his spine.

"My mother used to get very bad headaches," Akaashi said. "I read up on the different areas to scratch and massage so I could relieve some of her pain."

"Bokuto is a very lucky man."

"As am I."

Tooru smiled, because despite the ache he felt at his own misfortune, the look on Akaashi's face as he watched his boyfriend snore was beautiful. "Would you have still picked him even if..."

Akaashi's quirked his lips, gaze turning thoughtful. "I was not happy to find my soulmate at fifteen, as I'm sure Koutarou has mentioned."

Tooru shifted so he could see Akaashi's face better. "He has."

"He was so excited. Even when we won matches, his smile was never as vibrant as the moments we brushed skin and feathers appeared." Akaashi smiled wistfully. "I didn't think I could ever be as enthusiastic as him. I thought my ambivalence a sure sign that I had been given the wrong soulmate. But even when I pulled away or avoided him, he treated me like any other teammate and friend. He pursued me only in the sense that he refused to not have me in his life. When I realized Koutarou would never ask more of me than he was sure I was willing to give, falling in love was—the only option."

"I don't know if I want to go back to the club tomorrow," Tooru admitted. Akaashi's fingers kept moving through Tooru's hair, gloriously non-judgemental. He'd been stewing over that thought for days. Who would he look for? A stranger in a mask? A person who broke his promise to come back? Someone who apparently didn't realize, or care, that he'd met his soulmate?

"I will support whatever decision it is you decide to make."

"Thank you, Akaashi."

"Kei-chan." Tooru blinked up at Akaashi, eye welling. Akaashi's fingers stopped moving and he repeated, "Call me Kei-chan." Tooru choked out a sob and let Akaashi pull him close. While not as enveloping as Bokuto's embrace, Akaashi's was no less warm and comforting.

In Akaashi's arms, Tooru closed his eyes and breathed.

***

Tooru knocked on Iwaizumi's apartment door.

"It's open!" came a gruff voice and Tooru balked. Although his forebrain believed Iwaizumi's offer had been genuine, his hindbrain was less convinced. It was Halloween, after all. There were still a few more hours before he was free of his friends' pranks. Remembering that Bokuto and Akaashi would help him hide the bodies if this _was_ a prank gave him the courage to open the door.

He braced himself for some sort of loud explosion, screams, or even something dropping from the ceiling. Instead, he walked into an open floor loft with the evening sunset peeking through gauzy curtains. Iwaizumi stood in the kitchen area, stirring a large pot.

Tooru finally smiled.

"Iwa-chan," he said brightly. "We meet at last."

"Oikawa."

Iwaizumi Hajime was nearly as broad as Bokuto, but lacked his height. As Tooru stepped further into the room, he thought Iwaizumi might be a few centimeters shorter than Tooru, too. His smile was subtle, showing mostly around his eyes, which was incredibly unfair. Tooru was still mad at Iwaizumi, after all.

"Do you always let strange people just walk into your apartment?" Tooru asked, setting his bag down on a small table in the corner of Iwaizumi's kitchen. "I could have been a murderer."

"You've already killed me emotionally with those damn emojis," Iwaizumi griped. "What's a little stabbing in the face of that?"

Tooru chuckled and pulled out his laptop. When Iwaizumi sighed, Tooru narrowed his eyes. "We _are_ still doing this interview right?"

"Totally," he insisted. "I just... to be honest, I hate talking about myself. I don't want people to pay attention to me, I want them to pay attention to my work."

"Your polymer is both lightweight and half the cost of the usual types used in prosthesis," Tooru rattled off, earning a wide-eyed, open-mouthed look from Iwaizumi. "You synthesized it and made it usable by 3d printing technology, thus allowing all parts to be made in one place, which cuts back the costs. That means children with prosthesis needs will be able to have new parts made for them as they grow without worrying about the price."

Iwaizumi's stunned silence persisted and Tooru laughed. "What? Did you think I was just some jack ass who wanted to use your fame to get myself into the graduation issue of the paper?"

Iwaizumi bit his lip and nodded. His cheeks were pink and he ran a hand through his short, dark hair, which made it stand even more on end. "That's all I've dealt with since I won that damn award. I didn't even want to submit my work for it. I knew the sort of attention it would draw."

"What sort of attention is that?"

"The wrong kind," Iwaizumi answered. "The kind that only looks at me and not at my work. It does my polymer no good if no one is asking about it."

"You're very passionate about it," Tooru noted. He kept his laptop shut. He'd worry about taking notes later. He was sure the best way to get Iwaizumi to open up was to not make him feel like he was being interviewed. "What made you decide to pursue engineering in the first place?"

Truthfully, Iwaizumi's story wasn't that unique. Single mother, father left shortly after his little sister was born. Raised almost exclusively by a friendly neighbor since his mother worked near constantly as a nurse. Friendly neighbor worked as an engineer before retiring, saw that potential in Iwaizumi to do the same.

Nevertheless, Tooru found himself entranced by the passion and pride that lit Iwaizumi up.

"He got me into prosthetics as well," Iwaizumi told Tooru as he chopped vegetables for the soup he was preparing for them. Tooru ate small bites of the milk bread Iwaizumi had purchased for him, not wanting to spoil his appetite. "He lost his leg in a combine accident. Part of the reason he retired when he did. The prosthetic they gave him was heavy and most of the time even taking a walk through the park was too much for him, but the lightweight ones were extremely expensive. I went with him once when he needed to get fitted for a new one. The hinge mechanism on his knee joint was locking up," he explained, lifting the lid from the pot to add seasonings.

"There was this little girl at the office who had a similar injury as his. Lost her leg above the knee," Iwaizumi's voice turned sour and he scowled at the memory. "I could hear her parents whispering about how it was getting to be expensive needing to get her a new prosthesis every few months since she was growing so fast. I remember thinking how unfair that was. That a little girl's parents needed to worry about the costs of just allowing their child the ability to walk."

"So, you wanted to find a way to make it so the rest of the children of the world would never deal with that."

"No child should be denied the ability to walk, run, play with their friends. If cost is the problem, then I decided to find a way to make it cost less."

Tooru locked eyes with Iwaizumi and felt a flush start in his cheeks. He hastily looked away, but not before he saw a blush on Iwaizumi's face, too. Tooru was about to ask Iwaizumi more about his family when a phone started ringing. Iwaizumi pulled his phone from his pocket, sighing as he looked at the display. "I'm really sorry, but it's my mom."

Tooru shook his head to say it was all right and Iwaizumi answered his phone.

"Ammi," he greeted cheerfully. "Yes." His voice turned wary almost instantly. He turned the stove down and walked out of the kitchen and towards a set of curtains by the far wall of his apartment. He disappeared through them. Tooru could hear his voice rise in volume and briefly heard the name Nasha, and something about not being a child anymore before Tooru deliberately tried to distract himself from eavesdropping. He poked around Iwaizumi's kitchen and lifted the lid from the pot, smelling the broth inside, which made his stomach rumble.

Curiosity got the better of Tooru as Iwaizumi's conversation with his mom dragged on, and he couldn't resist exploring the rest of Iwaizumi's apartment. The open floor plan made it easy to poke about and still keep an eye on the curtains in case Iwaizumi came back. His voice had dropped and it sounded like he was apologizing for something. Tooru directed his eyes back to the bookshelves in front of him. They were full of math and science textbooks, a few spy novels, and a couple manga series. The DVD shelf was all action and comedies and Tooru bit back a laugh at the entire shelf of Godzilla movies, complete with the god awful American remake.

The conversation with Iwaizumi's mother didn't seem to be ending anytime soon, so Tooru found his way to the bathroom. He peeked in the medicine cabinet and silently judged Iwaizumi's deodorant choice. As he walked back into the living room, he caught a glimpse of a black mask sitting on a table next to the couch and froze.

Fate really was cruel to tease him like this.

Heart pounding, he edged closer to the mask, trying desperately to quash his hopes. It was sitting facedown on the table and Tooru's hands shook as he lifted it up. His throat worked, but he couldn't think of anything to say, for in his hands was a plain black half mask with the rebel phoenix in red above the left eye.

This mask that had been in his thoughts—and nightmares—all week. His hands shook even worse as he set the mask down and turned to where he could still hear Iwaizumi speaking.

He walked towards the curtain, dazed. A small voice in the back of his head screamed _this is a dream_. Anyone could have owned that mask. Star Wars merchandise was ubiquitous, especially around Halloween. Tooru let his feet take him to the edge of the curtain and parted it. Iwaizumi jumped to his feet, startled. Before he could say anything, however, Tooru grabbed his free hand.

"What are you doing?" Iwaizumi asked, but Tooru couldn't get his voice to work. He refused to look down. He couldn't bear the chance he might see nothing. He clutched Iwaizumi's hand as he frowned, praying Iwaizumi would look down and—

_“Is that...“_

Iwaizumi lifted their clasped hands and Tooru inhaled sharply at the teal and turquoise explosion of flowers that spread from their hands down their wrists. He reached forward and took Iwaizumi's other hand, locking their fingers together. He needed to see more of those watercolor blooms spreading across their skin.

"You..." Tooru breathed, looking with fresh perspective at Iwaizumi's dark, sharp eyes. They had left him wanting more in the club, too.

"You left!" he yelled, dropping Iwaizumi's hands. "You just walked out!"

"What do you mean _I walked out?_ " Iwaizumi yelled back, clearly startled. "When the hell did we meet? I've been staring at this since Sunday trying to figure out when it happened!" He pulled up his shirt sleeve to reveal a bright golden sun on his wrist, in the same place as Tooru's broken crown.

"I was Leia," Tooru quipped, tugging up his shirt with one hand. "Perhaps you'll remember my body better than my face?" He was not letting Iwaizumi off easy for abandoning him, letting him spend a week miserable and scared that he'd never find him again. "Don't tell me you're a scoundrel in real life too."

Iwaizumi gaped at him. He stepped back and his legs collided with the bed. He sat down hard and buried his face in his hands. "Oh my fucking god!"

Tooru wanted to berate him further, yell at him for leaving, make him suffer in agony the way Tooru had this week As Iwaizumi looked up at him, though, the stunned awe on his face was utterly real. Despite himself, Tooru softened. He sat down next to him and took one of his hands, hesitantly tracing circles along his palm, marvelling at the show of colors.  
He finally understood what it felt like to _know_.

"Where did you go that night?"

Iwaizumi watched Tooru's fingers trace over his palm and wrist. "My little sister Nasha, she's a second year in high school. She went to a party that night with some older kids and... there was alcohol and she started to get uncomfortable. She'd gotten lost trying to navigate the subway and left her purse on a train. So, I went to rescue her," he sighed. "That's what the phone call with my mother was about just now. I never told her that Nasha had been out and she was calling to scold me for encouraging Nasha's rebellious behavior."

"So you had no idea that I..."

Iwaizumi shook his head. "I didn't see this until the next day," he held up his other arm and Tooru stared at the golden sun on his wrist. "I was... I didn't know what to think. I had been around so many people that night."

"I found out right after you left," Tooru told him, leaning his head on his shoulder. There was hardly a need to be shy with the man who he'd spent close to two hours grinding on. "I've been looking for you for a very long time, Iwa-chan."

"Would you be upset to know that I wasn't worried about that sort of thing? Soulmates, I mean."

Tooru shook his head. "I gave up yesterday, after... after I thought you'd been a part of yet another prank."

Iwaizumi laced their fingers together again. "Someday you'll have to explain to me why you are the victim of a month's worth of pranks."

Tooru laughed. "Too many people know the reason behind that. Can't I have a few secrets from you?"

"I don't know," Iwaizumi answered, a smile tucked into his voice. "We're soulmates, after all. Aren't I the last person you should have secrets from?"

Tooru didn't answer the jest, and the silence settled around them for a moment. Tooru basked in it, perfectly content—but there was one more thing that needed to be addressed. Tooru cleared his throat and took the plunge. "So... before you left so quickly that night."

"We were..."

"Yeah."

Tooru lifted his head and met Iwaizumi's eyes. He swallowed hard as the memory of hands - Iwaizumi's hands - everywhere came flooding back. "Kiss me again Iwa-chan," he whispered. Iwaizumi cradled Tooru's cheek and paused. Tooru knew he was watching the electric blue wash of color spread underneath his fingers. "Please."

Their first kiss had been full of drunken lust. Their first kiss as soulmates was full of hesitation. Soft and scared, Iwaizumi's lips captured Tooru's and he trembled with unspoken joy before a week's worth of stress, worry, and panic all came crashing and he burst into tears.

"Oh god," he whimpered, burying his face in his hands. "Don't look at me!" He scrambled away despite Iwaizumi's protest. "Please, oh please, don't look at me, I'm a wreck!"

"What did I do?" Iwazumi asked, confused and hurt.

"It's not you!" Tooru insisted, shaking and curling in on himself. "It's just... I thought I was being punished. I thought that because I kept going on speed dates and just rushing through life trying to find my soulmate that I was only going to meet you long enough to know you existed. I thought that my insistence on making it happen was my downfall. I don't know how to do things in moderation!"

"Oh, trust me, I know," Iwaizumi muttered. "I have a record of emails corroborating that."

"Mean, Iwa-chan!" Tooru whined. "I'm pouring out my heart and you're picking on me!"

"I'm just being honest with you," he said, wrapping his fingers around Tooru's wrist. Despite himself, Tooru studied it eagerly. "Now stop being an overdramatic asshole and get back over here."

Tooru lifted his eyes and shook his head. Sniffling, he explained, "If I keep kissing you, I'll want more, and I'm probably going to be punished further and you'll just be a platonic soulmate and you'll have ruined me forever with your kissing."

Iwaizumi burst out laughing. "You think it's platonic now? I had my hand on your ass a week ago and you think now that we've met properly suddenly it's platonic? Do you _want_ it to be platonic?"

Tooru scoffed, wiping at his eyes. "I have never once believed my soulmate would be platonic but... you must hate me after all the kaomojis and the emails."

Iwaizumi's bark of laughter shook the bed. "God, I wanted to reach through the computer and strangle you, but you know what? I admired - _admire_ \- your tenacity. You didn't take no for an answer. I could have blocked you, but I was curious to see just how far you'd go to get me to agree."

"What won you over? Was it my charm? Tell me it was my charm," Tooru begged.

Iwaizumi shook his head. "I don't know. I just... got tired of telling you no."

"I have that effect on people," Tooru remarked with a quirked smile. He reached out and stroked his fingers along Iwaizumi's cheek, still in awe of the beauty of the marks that appeared. Only then did he realize that Iwaizumi had inched closer while distracting Tooru, and a little thrill ran down his spine. He wanted more than anything to keep Iwaizumi for as long as Iwaizumi would let him. "Can I call you..."

"Hajime?" Tooru nodded, Iwaizumi smiled and kissed his palm. "To be honest, I'm a little partial to Iwa-chan."

"If you keep calling me Trashykawa I will be forced to leave."

"Only on special occasions, then."

"I can live with that," Tooru replied. "I'm sure I'll do something to warrant the moniker."

"Probably."

"But not now," he said as he straddled Iwaizumi's thighs and tipped his face up to look at him. Iwaizumi grinned and kissed Tooru's cheek.

"No," he agreed, "Definitely not now."  


**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this because I really loved writing it.
> 
> One last parting note to Xey, thank you for screaming at me with happiness every time I shared bits with you.
> 
> Happy Halloween!
> 
> [Come yell at me about Volleyball Boys on Tumblr](http://quinnlocke.tumblr.com/)


End file.
